THE MIRACLE
Tess was a precocious eight year old when she heard her
Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew. All she knew
was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money.
They
were moving to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn't have
the money for the doctor bills and our house.
Only a very costly surgery could save him now and it was looking like
there was no-one to loan them the money. She heard Daddy say to her
tearful Mother with whispered desperation, "Only a miracle can save him
now."

Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar
from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out
on
the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The
total had to be
exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully
placing
the coins
back in the jar and twisting on
the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to
Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he
was to busy at
this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise.
Nothing.
She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster.
No good.
Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it
on the glass counter. That did it!

"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an
annoyed tone of voice. "I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom
I
haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his
question.

"Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,"
Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone, "He's really, really sick...
and
I want to buy a miracle."

"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.

"His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing
inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now.
So how much does a miracle cost?"

"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't
enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."

The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man.
He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does
you
brother need?"

"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. "I just
know
he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation.
But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money.

"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago.

"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly.
"And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.

"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and
eleven cents--the exact price of a miracle for little brothers."

He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her
mitten
and said, "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and
meet
your parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need."

That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a
surgeon, specializing in nuero-surgery. The operation was
completed without charge
and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led
them
to this place.

"That surgery," her Mom whispered, "was a real miracle.
I wonder how much it would have cost?"

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost...
one dollar and eleven cents ...... plus the faith of a little child.

A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a
higher law......
(A TRUE STORY)